Method and system for allowing extended connections to content providers via prepaid content provider accounts

ABSTRACT

A method and system for connecting a caller to a content provider who provides a service to the caller over the telephone system is disclosed. In accordance with the invention, a transaction processor (i.e., debit card platform) is disclosed which generally receives a telephone call from a caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider. The debit card platform establishes a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection. During the course of the connection, the debit card platform continuously monitors the caller&#39;s amount of available funds in the first account and, upon occurrence of a “triggering event,” performs an action to increase the amount of available funds. The triggering event may be, e.g., the receipt of the telephone call, providing the caller with the cost of the service, the amount of available funds reaching a threshold value, or the expiration of a period of time. When the transaction is completed, the debit card platform debits the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of:

(i) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/777,802 filed Dec. 31, 1996 andissued Jun. 12, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,755; and also

(ii) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/148,272 filed Sep. 4, 1998,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/570,443filed Dec. 11, 1995 and issued Oct. 20, 1998 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,863.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a system and method for allowing acaller to access a service offered by a content provider over atelephone network via an intermediary and, more particularly, to asystem and method for allowing a caller to extend his connection to thecontent provider by increasing the balance of a prepaid accountassociated with the caller.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the advent of 900 number and similar shared-revenue systems, theuse of telephone-based services and the corresponding number ofproviders of these services has increased dramatically. Consumers cannow use the telephone to receive a wide variety of services, rangingfrom technical support to personal psychic readings. These services aretypically provided by a content provider who first delivers the serviceover the telephone and subsequently bills a caller. The caller typicallyis identified by the phone number from which he is calling, and thesubsequent bill is then included as part of the caller's telephone bill.The content provider typically calculates the amount of the bill afterthe service has been delivered. This amount is forwarded to thetelephone company, which both bills and collects from the caller. Thetelephone company typically deducts a portion of the total payment inreturn for both the cost of making the telephone connection and for thetelephone company's role as bill collector.

This system has significant drawbacks. For example, because the calleris charged after he has consumed the service, there is a significantrisk of bad debt. Callers may refuse to pay for the service or may evendeny having used the service in the first place. This generally resultsin a loss to the content provider and also requires the telephonecompany to charge a higher rate for the telephone connection because afraction of the connections will be written off as bad debt. Anotherdisadvantage is that calls from public access phones, such as those inairports and hotels, are typically blocked because it is unclear whoshould be billed for calls from these phones. Many companies also blockcalls from their internal phones to prevent employees from, among otherreasons, generating large bills. Another disadvantage is that callersfrom home cannot access a service anonymously because telephone billingstatements normally identify both the content provider called and theamount charged.

In an effort to overcome some of these disadvantages, some contentproviders have established 900 number debit cards in which the callerpre-pays for the service provided by the content provider. For example,a 900 number debit card was offered by the Weather Channel. In thissystem, the caller set up an account by purchasing the debit card,effectively prepaying for Weather Channel access/information. The callerthen dialed the access number listed on the back of the debit card toaccess the Weather Channel, with the appropriate fee being deducted fromthe value remaining in the caller's prepaid account. However, theWeather Channel debit card could only complete calls to the WeatherChannel; services from other content providers were not availablethrough the Weather Channel debit card. This single service limitationseverely limits the functionality of a debit card, as a caller wouldhave to carry a separate card and maintain a separate prepaid accountfor each content provider he intends to access.

When a debit card's value is diminished, a caller is typicallydisconnected from the content provider. Being disconnected from acontent provider is inconvenient in that a caller must not only call thecontent provider back, but will usually incur the high first-minuterates associated with many content providers. While some debit cardsallow a caller to transfer funds from a credit card to a debit cardaccount, many callers are reluctant to use a credit card account forsuch purposes. Callers typically purchase prepaid cards specifically toavoid inconveniences associated with credit cards such as interest,potential security risks, and the loss of anonymity.

To overcome such shortcomings, the aforementioned parent application,Ser. No. 08/777,802 entitled “Method and System for Connecting a Callerto a Content Provider,” discloses a method and system for connecting acaller to a content provider that provides a service over a telephonenetwork. In this system, the caller initially establishes a prepaidaccount with an intermediary, such as a “transaction processor”. Thetransaction processor provides the caller with access to a plurality ofcontent providers via a common access number and receives payment forthe charges associated with calls to the content providers by debitingthe caller's prepaid account.

One advantage of this system is that it allows a caller to anonymouslyaccess a plurality of content providers through one account. However, itdoes not address how a caller can increase the funds of his prepaidaccount without jeopardizing his anonymity. For example, the transfer offunds from the caller's credit card account to his prepaid accountcannot be readily accomplished without the caller identifying himself.Accordingly, the amount of services the caller can consume is limited bythe amount in the caller's prepaid account, which effectively limits thecontent providers' potential revenue.

Thus, a need exists for a system and method that allows a caller toanonymously increase the balance of his prepaid account and that furtherallows a caller to maintain an anonymous connection to the describedcontent provider despite having a low prepaid account balance. Therefurther exists a need for a system and method that allows the caller toswitch between content providers while maintaining a connection to thetransaction processor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In connection with the foregoing, a transaction processor (e.g., debitcard platform) is disclosed which generally receives a telephone callfrom a caller identifying (a) a first account identifier correspondingto a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account beingassociated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provideridentifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider.The debit card platform establishes a telephone connection between thecaller and the content provider to enable the content provider toprovide a service to the caller through the telephone connection.

During the course of the connection, the debit card platformcontinuously monitors the caller's amount of available funds in thefirst account and, upon occurrence of a “triggering event,” performs anaction to increase the amount of available funds. The triggering eventmay be, e.g., the receipt of the telephone call, providing the callerwith the cost of the service, the amount of available funds reaching athreshold value, or the expiration of a period of time.

When the transaction is completed, the debit card platform debits thefirst account by a transaction amount based on the content provider andthe service provided.

According to one aspect of the invention, the debit card platformreceives a second account identifier from the caller corresponding to abalance of a second account, and links the second account with the firstaccount.

According to another aspect of the invention, the debit card platformestablishes a connection between the caller and a second contentprovider upon receipt of a second content provider identifiercorresponding to the second content provider.

According to another aspect of the invention, the debit card platformextends a determined amount of eligible credit to the caller's firstaccount, and allows the caller to repay the extended credit anonymously.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the debit cardplatform provides the caller with a code associated with an unlistedphone number of a content provider that allows the caller free servicefrom the content provider for a predetermined period of time.

The system and method of the invention will be more readily understoodand apparent from the following detailed description of the inventionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and from theclaims which are appended at the end of the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with one embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the debit card platform of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the prepaid account database of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the content provider database FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the call records database of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 6A-6C are flow diagrams illustrating the operation of the systemin accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6D is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the linksubprocess of FIG. 6C.

FIG. 6E is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the creditsubprocess of FIG. 6C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION System Overview

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of a system in accordance with thepresent invention, which connects a caller device 110 (e.g. a telephone)to a content provider 120 over a telephone network 160 via a transactionprocessor 200 (e.g., debit card platform).

The content provider 120, as used herein, includes parties which provideinformation and/or a service over the telephone network 160 and whichcharge for that service. This includes parties which traditionally haveprovided services over the telephone network 160 via “900 numbers”, “976numbers” and other shared-revenue numbers. Of course, such servicescould include the sale of goods, in which case the content would be acatalog of goods offered for sale. Therefore, as used in the presentapplication, the terms “content” and “service” shall be understood toinclude anything tangible or intangible provided to the caller. Finally,these services, telephone numbers, and content providers may be referredto as shared-revenue services, shared-revenue numbers, andshared-revenue content providers, respectively, in the sense that theycharge a premium in addition to the transport costs of the basictelecommunications services, the total access charges typically beingshared amongst the content provider, the transaction processor, and thetelecommunications service(s).

The telephone network 160, as used herein, includes the combination oflocal and long distance wire facilities and switches generally known asthe public switched telephone network (“PSTN”). However, telephonenetwork 160 is not restricted to the PSTN, but could also includewireless networks, cellular telephone networks, the telephone capabilityof the Internet, and other non-telephonic communications facilitiesthrough which content or services may be provided.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a preferredembodiment of the transaction processor 200. As the description belowwill show, the information needed by the caller to use the system canconveniently be derived from a “debit card”. The invention is notrestricted to use with such debit cards, however the invention should beunderstood to include any system having the functionality describedherein, whether used in conjunction with debit cards or other accessdevices.

The transaction processor 200 preferably includes certain standardhardware components, such as a processor (“CPU”) 260, a clock 270, atelephone switch 230 and a data storage device 280. The processor 260 ispreferably linked to each of the other listed elements, either by meansof a shared data bus or dedicated connections as shown in FIG. 2.

The transaction processor 200 receives a call from the caller device 110via a communication port 210. In one embodiment of the invention, thetransaction processor 200 is associated with a toll-free telephonenumber, such as an “800 number” or “888 number” call. The use oftoll-free numbers present numerous advantages over other types oftelephone calls. For example, current FCC regulations dictate thattoll-free numbers cannot be blocked, thus allowing access to thetransaction processor 200 and the content provider 120 from anytelephone in the United States. The toll-free number is alsoadvantageous for the caller, who can conveniently place the call fromany telephone with no record of the call appearing on his regulartelephone bill. Although toll-free calls are preferred because of theabove advantages, they are not required for the invention. For example,the telephone call could be a collect call, or a direct dialed call paidfor by the caller.

The transaction processor 200 establishes a connection to the contentprovider 120 via a second communications port 220. In one embodiment ofthe invention, the content providers are shared-revenue contentproviders that are normally directly accessed via the shared-revenuenetwork, including “900 numbers”, “976 numbers” and other similarnumbers.

The telephone switch 230 is controlled by a program 240 stored in thedata storage device 280. The program 240 directs the processor 200 toconnect the caller device 110 and the content provider 120 via theirrespective connections to the communications ports 210 and 220,respectively.

The communications ports 210 and 220 may include multiple communicationschannels for simultaneously connecting multiple callers and multiplecontent providers. In one embodiment of the invention, thecommunications ports 210 and 220 may be stand-alone devices.Alternatively, the communications ports 210 and 220 may be integratedwith a telephone within the telephone switch 230 into a single device.

The telephone switch 230, processor 260, and program 240 may beimplemented as separate devices or as a single device. For example, thetelephone switch 230 may be a conventional switch such as the Excel LNX2000 while the program 240 and processor 260 might include anoff-the-shelf microprocessor and software. Alternatively, the telephoneswitch 230 and program 240 both may be implemented through a device suchas the AT&T System 8511.

A caller interface 250 includes an interactive voice response unit(“IVRU”). The IVRU facilitates communications between the caller device110 connected to the 5 communications port 210, and the telephone switch230 by converting dual tone multi-frequency (“DTMF”) signals entered bythe caller on his touch tone key pad into digital signals for thetelephone switch 230. The IVRU may also transmit various messagesselected by the program 240 to the caller device 110.

The data storage device 280 also includes a prepaid account database300, a content provider database 400 and a call records database 500(discussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5,respectively).

Referring to FIG. 3, the prepaid account database 300 tracks the prepaidaccounts of callers. The prepaid account database 300 maintains aplurality of records, such as records 365, 370, 375 and 380, eachassociated with a different prepaid account identified by an accountidentifier in field 310. The account may be associated with, forexample, a prepaid debit card purchased from an intermediary vendor, orwith an account directly established between a caller and thetransaction processor 200. In one embodiment, the account identifier 310is a numeric identification number which may be printed on a prepaiddebit card carried by the caller. In another embodiment, accountidentifier 310 may be automatically generated by transaction processor200 based on the telephone number from which a call is received. Thetransaction processor may ascertain the telephone number by an ANI(Automatic Number Identification) signal, as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. The balance, activation date and expiration date ofthe account are set forth in fields 320, 330 and 340, respectively. Pastactivity on the account is measured by the total amount of money spentto-date on the account, as set forth in field 350. Finally, the primaryaccount to which the account is linked is set forth in field 360. Thisallows the transaction processor 200 to automatically begin billing theprimary account when the balance of the original account is exhausted,as discussed in more detail below.

In a similar manner, the content provider database 400 tracks contentproviders. As shown in FIG. 4, the content provider database 400maintains a plurality of records, such as records 435, 440, 445 and 450,each associated with a different content provider that is identified bycontent provider name and identifier as set forth in fields 410 and 420,respectively. In the present embodiment of the invention, the contentprovider identifier is the actual telephone number of the contentprovider. This allows a caller to connect to the transaction processor200 via caller device 110 and then identify a content provider by itstelephone number. The cost schedule for each content provider is setforth in field 430, and typically has a fixed component and/or avariable component, depending on whether the content provider charges afixed amount per call (e.g., $5.00/call) or a per quantity charge percall (e.g., $2.00/minute).

Finally, referring to FIG. 5, the call records database 500 is shown.The call records database 500 maintains a plurality of records, such asrecords 545, 550, 555 and 560. Each record specifies the amount ofcredit issued for a particular account identified by the accountidentifier set forth in field 510. The amount of credit issued to theaccount and the date the credit was issued (as provided by the clock270) is set forth in fields 520 and 530, respectively. The telephonenumber of the caller using the credited account is set forth in field540.

Method Of Operation

An embodiment of the process for the system described above will now bedescribed in detail by reference to FIGS. 6A-6E.

Referring to FIG. 6A, the process begins at step 605, where thetransaction processor 200 receives a telephone call from the callerdevice 110. At step 610, the IVRU of the caller interface 250 of thetransaction processor 200 requests from the caller an account identifierassociated with a prepaid account in the prepaid account database 300.Once the caller device 110 transmits the account identifier (e.g. viaDTMF signals that the IVRU converts to digital signals) the program 240of the transaction processor 200 searches field 310 of the prepaidaccount database 300 in step 615 for a record corresponding to thereceived account identifier. In another embodiment, transactionprocessor 200 derives the caller's account identifier via an automaticnumber identification (ANI) system. In step 620, the transactionprocessor 200 makes a determination whether the account identifier isvalid, i.e., whether a record containing the received account identifierwas located. If the account identifier is invalid (no record waslocated), the transaction processor repeats steps 610 to 620 until ithas received a valid account identifier or until the call is terminated.

Once a valid account identifier has been received from the caller device110, the transaction processor 200 follows a similar protocol withrespect to the request for and receipt of a valid content provideridentifier. At step 625, the IVRU of the caller interface 250 requestsfrom the caller a content provider identifier, such as the telephonenumber of a content provider stored in the content provider database400. Once the caller device 110 transmits the requested content provideridentifier, the program 240 searches field 420 of the content providerdatabase 300 in step 630 for a record corresponding to the receivedcontent provider identifier. In step 635, program 240 makes adetermination whether the content provider identifier is valid, i.e.,whether a record containing the received content provider identifier waslocated. If the content provider identifier is invalid (no record waslocated), the transaction processor repeats steps 625 to 635 until ithas received a valid content provider identifier or until the call isterminated. In another embodiment, there is a default content providerthat a caller is connected to when transaction processor 200 receives avalid account identifier. In yet another embodiment, separate “800numbers” are maintained by transaction processor 200, eachrepresentative of a default content provider.

Referring now to FIG. 6B, in step 640 the control logic 240 informs thecaller via an IVRU announcement of the current balance of the account.The balance may be ascertained from field 320 of the record of theprepaid account database 300 associated with the account identifier. Thecaller is then provided with the option to link the account with asecond account and, in step 645, if it is determined that the callerdoes wish to exercise this option, the program 240 performs a linksubprocess in step 650. The link subprocess is described in detail byreference to FIG. 6D.

Once the link subprocess is completed, or if the caller did not wish tolink accounts, in step 655 the program 240 initiates a telephone call tothe content provider 120. At step 660, the program 240 completes thetelephone connection from the caller device 110 to the content provider120 by configuring the telephone switch 230 to connect the telephonecall from the caller device 110 to the telephone call made to thecontent provider 120.

At step 665, the program 240 monitors the telephone connection and thebalance of the prepaid account. Using the cost schedule set forth infield 430 of the record associated with the content provider and theduration of the telephone connection, the control logic 240 continuouslychecks whether the balance remaining in the caller's prepaid account issufficient to maintain the connection. If during the connection it isdetermined that the caller wishes to connect to a different contentprovider (step 670), the process repeats itself at step 625 where thetransaction processor 200 requests a content provider identifier fromthe caller. The caller may indicate that he wishes to return to thecontent provider menu of the caller interface 250 by inputting aspecific keystroke, such as pressing the pound sign (#) during the call.

If it is determined that the caller does not wish to connect to adifferent content provider, and during the monitoring process thetransaction processor 200 determines that the prepaid account hasreached a low balance in step 675 (FIG. 6C), the program 240 determineswhether there is a linked account in step 680 by reference to theprimary account field 360 of the record associated with the originalaccount of the prepaid account database 300. If there is a linkedaccount, in step 685 the transaction processor 200 switches the billingto the linked account listed in the primary account field 360 when thebalance of the original account reaches zero. The process then continuesat step 665 (FIG. 6B) where the transaction processor 200 continuouslymonitors the telephone connection and the balance of the account.

If it is determined in step 680 that there is no linked account, thetransaction processor 200 via an IVRU announcement provides the callerwith the option of linking his account (step 690) with a new accountand, if it is determined that the caller does wish to exercise thisoption, the program 240 performs the link subprocess of FIG. 6Ddescribed below. When the link subprocess is completed, the process thencontinues from step 665 (FIG. 6B) where the transaction processor 200continuously monitors the telephone connection and the balance of theaccount.

If it is determined in step 690 that the caller does not wish toexercise his option of linking accounts, in step 700 the control logicexecutes a credit subprocess. The credit subprocess is described indetail by reference to FIG. 6E.

If it is determined in step 675 that the account does not reach a lowbalance, and it is not determined that the caller 110 has hung up instep 705, the connection is maintained and the process repeats itself atstep 665. If it is determined in step 705 that the caller has hung up orif it is determined that the caller's account has not been active forthe predefined amount of time (step 1105 of the credit subprocessdescribed below), the caller's prepaid account(s) are debited (step 710)according to the amount determined during the monitoring of step 665.The call data is then stored in the call records database 500 in step715, and the process ends at step 720.

Referring to FIG. 6D, the link subprocess begins at step 1000, and instep 1005 the transaction processor 200 receives a new, second accountidentifier from the caller device 110 in the same manner as describedabove with respect to receipt of the first account identifier. Theprogram 240 searches field 310 of the prepaid account database 300 instep 1010 for a record corresponding to the new account identifier. Instep 1015, the program 240 determines whether the new account identifieris valid, i.e., whether a record containing the received accountidentifier was located. If the account identifier is invalid (no recordwas located), the transaction processor repeats steps 1005 to 1015 untilit has received a valid new account identifier, or until the call isterminated. Once a valid new account identifier has been received, thenew account is “linked” to the original account in step 1020 by theprogram 240 storing the new account identifier in the primary accountfield 360 of the record of the prepaid account database 300 associatedwith the original account. The link subprocess ends in step 1025.

Referring to FIG. 6E, the credit subprocess begins at step 1100, and instep 1105 the program 240 determines whether the account has been activefor a predefined amount of time (e.g., one year) by reference to theactivation date in field 330 of the record associated with the accountin the prepaid account database 300 when compared with the present dateas provided by the clock 270. If the account has been active for thispredefined period of time, in step 1110 the program 240 determines theamount to be credited to the account based on the amount set forth infield 350 of the record associated with the account in the prepaidaccount database 330. The amount of credit can be determined, e.g.,based on a percentage of the total amount spent, a fixed amount, etc.The transaction processor 200 credits the caller's account by increasingthe account balance of field 320 by the appropriate amount of credit instep 1115. The credit subprocess ends in step 1120.

In another embodiment, the IVRU of the transaction processor 200provides the caller with a listing of content providers amongst whichthe caller may select. Such listing may also be provided, e.g., inwriting on the back of the debit card or on promotional literature.

In another embodiment, the caller device 110 can directly access adesired operator via the transaction processor 200. In this embodiment,the caller device 10 receives from the transaction processor 200 a coderepresentative of a specific operator. If the caller requests theoperator and he is unavailable, the caller is prompted to select adifferent operator, and when the desired operator becomes free, thecaller device 110 receives a signal and the caller is asked if he wouldlike to be connected to the previously requested operator. As an exampleof this embodiment, the caller placed a call to the transactionprocessor on one occasion and spoke with an operator who knew about thetype of gardening the caller was doing, thus compelling the caller toask that operator for his “direct dial code”. A few days later, thecaller again calls the transaction processor 200, and when prompted forhis requested content provider code, the caller instead inputs the“direct dial code”. Unfortunately, the desired operator is busy at themoment, and the caller is prompted to enter a different code. He opts toconnect to the general “1-900-GARDENING” number and seeks help from adifferent operator. When the desired operator is free, the caller isprompted to switch that operator.

In another embodiment, the transaction processor 200 does not requirethe content provider database 400. The caller device 110 connects to thetransaction processor 200 and inputs a code, which is his “900 number”of choice. The transaction processor 200 then calls the content provider120 on a separate line and determines the associated cost per minute orflat rate. The transaction processor 200 then transfers the caller tothe line connected to the content provider 120, and charges his accountaccordingly. The transaction processor 200 is charged by the contentprovider 120 as any other caller would be; in fact, the content provider120 doesn't even need to know that the transaction processor 200 isinvolved. The caller is then billed by the transaction processor 200accordingly.

In another embodiment, the caller 110 may call the transaction processor200 and receive a code representative of and connected to his account.This code is to be used to anonymously pay for content through a contentprovider 120, perhaps in place of a credit card number. For example, thecaller sends a check to the service operating the transaction processor200, and the caller is in turn provided with a code limited only by theamount of the check that the caller has sent. The code may be the lengthof a credit card number, thus allowing the caller to anonymously accessany content provider in a manner similar to when he pays using a creditcard number.

In yet another embodiment, a different code could also be used thatcorresponds to a non-listed phone number that provides the caller withcontent similar to that of a standard content provider. This code is a“back-door” phone number that provides the caller with free access tothe content provider 120. However, the non-listed phone number is notlisted anywhere and must be given to the caller by the content provider120. To avoid unauthorized callers from unduly exploiting the unlistednumber, the number could change on a periodic basis, such as day-to-dayor week-to-week. The caller would be charged a flat rate for the “secretnumber” with, e.g., a free week of content. This allows the caller tosimply call the number without having to input any account or relatedinformation. The content provider 120 could also be configured toprovide the caller with a callback upon request.

Although in some embodiments methods are disclosed for allowing thecaller to increase the balance of his account is by linking a secondaccount or by obtaining credit, alternate embodiments allow paymentusing E-cash, any pre-paid medium (phone card, traditional or electronicgift certificates, “900#” card, mail-in money order) or cash insertedinto a pay phone.

Finally, other embodiments of the events which “trigger” the caller toincrease the balance of his account include: (1) when the callerinitially connects to the transaction processor 200; (2) when thetransaction processor 200 outputs the cost of the service offered by thecontent provider 120; (3) when the caller's account balance is notsufficient to pay for a product or flat rate content; (4) when aprojected call time or call cost exceeds the amount of credit in thecaller's account; or (5) upon expiration of a predetermined period oftime.

Although the present invention has been described in terms of particularembodiments, it will be appreciated that various modifications andalterations thereto may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the scope of theinvention be limited by only the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide an unlisted telephone number to the caller through the telephone connection; and debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; wherein the caller independently accesses the unlisted telephone number of the content provider.
 2. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available hinds; performing an action to increase the amount of available finds; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; receiving a second account identifier corresponding to a balance of a second account; and storing the second account identifier in association with the first account, thereby linking the second account with the first account, wherein performing the action to increase the amount of available funds comprises: determining, based on a cost of the service and a duration of the telephone connection, when the balance of the first account is less than a threshold value, and increasing the amount of available finds by transferring funds from the second account if the balance of the first account decreases to below the threshold value.
 3. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identified (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; performing an action to increase the amount of available funds; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; receiving a second account identifier corresponding to a balance of a second account; and storing the second account identifier in association with the first account, thereby linking the second account with the first account, wherein performing the action to increase the amount of available funds comprises debiting the second account when the balance of the first account is less than a threshold value.
 4. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically performing an action to increase the amount of available funds; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; receiving from the caller a second content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of a second content provider; and establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the second content provider to enable the second content provider to provide a second service to the caller through the telephone connection.
 5. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller though the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; performing an action to increase the amount of available funds; and debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided, wherein performing the action to increase the amount of available funds comprises; determining, based on a cost of the service and a duration of the telephone connection, when the balance of the first account is less than a threshold value, and automatically increasing the amount of available funds by a predetermined amount if the balance of the first account falls below the threshold value.
 6. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically increasing the amount of available funds based on a triggering event, wherein the triggering event is the receipt of the telephone call; and debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided.
 7. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically increasing the amount of available funds based on a triggering event; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; and informing the caller of a cost of the service, the informing being the triggering event.
 8. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically increasing the amount of available funds based on a triggering event; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; and determining whether the amount of available funds is sufficient to pay for the service, wherein the triggering event is an insufficiency of available funds.
 9. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically increasing the amount of available funds based on a triggering event, wherein the triggering event is an expiration of a period of time; and debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided.
 10. A method for allowing a caller to access a service offered by a content provider, comprising: receiving a telephone call from the caller identifying (a) a first account identifier corresponding to a balance of a first account, the balance of the first account being associated with an amount of available funds, and (b) a content provider identifier corresponding to a telephone number of the content provider; establishing a telephone connection between the caller and the content provider to enable the content provider to provide a service to the caller through the telephone connection; monitoring the telephone connection and the amount of available funds; automatically increasing the amount of available funds; debiting the first account by a transaction amount based on the content provider and the service provided; and providing the caller an operator identifier corresponding to a specific operator.
 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: receiving the operator identifier from the caller; and connecting the caller to the specific operator corresponding to the operator identifier.
 12. A method comprising: receiving a first account identifier that identifies a first account, in which the first account has a first balance; receiving a content identifier that identifies content; determining a cost schedule, in which the cost schedule is based on the content; establishing a connection, in which the connection enables a caller to receive the content; determining a second balance of the first account based on the cost schedule; determining whether the second balance is less than a predetermined amount; and automatically increasing the second balance if the second balance is less than the predetermined amount, thereby determining a third balance of the first account.
 13. The method of claim 12, in which establishing a connection comprises: establishing a connection between the caller and a provider of the content.
 14. A method comprising: receiving a first account identifier that identifies a first account, in which the first account corresponds to an amount of available funds; receiving a content identifier that identifies content; determining a cost schedule, in which the cost schedule is based on the content; establishing a connection, in which the connection enables a caller to receive the content; debiting the first account based on the cost schedule; determining whether the amount of available funds is less than a predetermined amount; and automatically increasing the amount of available funds if the amount of available funds is less than the predetermined amount.
 15. The method of claim 14, in which establishing a connection comprises: establishing a connection between the caller, and a provider of the content.
 16. The method of claim 14, in which the amount of available funds comprises a balance of the first account.
 17. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving a second account identifier corresponding to a second account; and linking the second account with the first account.
 18. The method of claim 17, in which automatically detecting comprises: transferring an amount of funds from the second account to the first account.
 19. The method of claim 12, in which automatically determining comprises: determining whether the caller is eligible for credit; determining an amount of credit if the caller is eligible for credit; and determining the third balance based on the amount of credit.
 20. The method of claim 19, in which determining whether the caller is eligible for credit comprises: determining whether the first account has been active for a predetermined time period.
 21. The method of claim 19, in which determining the amount of credit comprises: determining the amount of credit based on a total amount the caller has spent on the content.
 22. The method of claim 12, in which the first account is associated with a debit card.
 23. The method of claim 12, in which the second account is associated with a debit card.
 24. The method of claim 12, in which the cost schedule is a fixed amount per call.
 25. The method of claim 12, in which the cost schedule is an amount per a period of time.
 26. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a second account identifier corresponding to a second account; and linking the second account with the first account.
 27. The method of claim 26, in which automatically increasing comprises: transferring all amount of funds from the second account to the first account.
 28. The method of claim 14, in which automatically increasing comprises: determining whether the caller is eligible for credit; determining an amount of credit if the caller is eligible for credit; and increasing the amount of available flint's based on the amount of credit.
 29. The method of claim 28, in which determining whether the caller is eligible for credit comprises: determining whether the first account has been active for a predetermined time period.
 30. The method of claim 28, in which determining the amount of credit comprises determining the amount of credit based on a total amount the caller has spent on the content.
 31. The method of claim 14, in which the first account is associated with a debit card.
 32. The method of claim 14, in which the second account is associated with a debit card.
 33. The method of claim 14, in which the cost schedule is a fixed amount per call.
 34. The method of claim 14, in which the cost schedule is an amount per a period of time. 